"Cold… corroded by battle. Silent… abandoned and replaced. But never lost. Just like—"
"A mechanical arm!" Amir interrupted.
"Ah!" Veronica flinched. Her arm, now covered in synthetic skin, looked indistinguishable from a real one.
Hearing Amir's comment, the witch holding Veronica's hand visibly jolted, then squeezed it tighter.
Amir, who had only approached out of curiosity, suddenly found himself intrigued. The girl's words did sound eerily accurate for the fate of a cybernetic limb.
Back in his previous life, Amir would never have believed in anything like this. But in a galaxy where the Force was real… who's to say this "witch" wasn't Force-sensitive?
"How much do you charge? I want a reading too," he asked, eyes fixed on her.
"O-One… no, two nutrient pastes," the witch murmured—still raspy, but not as heavy as before.
Amir glanced at Veronica.
"Don't look at me. She asked me for the same payment," Veronica muttered.
Weird, but whatever. Amir pulled two nutrient paste packs from his pocket. These handy food rations were enough to sustain an adult for a day or more—he always carried a few.
"Th-thank you," the girl said quietly.
Amir extended his hand.
The witch slowly reached out, placing both of hers over his.
A flicker of tension shot through Amir. He half-expected some bizarre prophecy like, "Fool from another time, aba aba…"
Her expression grew strained. Her hands began to tremble.
Suddenly, she jerked away.
"Everything is shrouded in darkness. But… but… I'm sorry," she said, pulling one nutrient paste from her robe and offering it back. "I couldn't see clearly. I'll return half your payment."
Her hand paused in mid-air. "I'd like to try again. If I succeed this time… may I keep both?"
"You can keep them either way," Amir replied, offering his hand again. "You've earned something for the effort."
This time, the witch took his hand with a grave expression, like a high priestess presiding over a sacred rite.
She closed her eyes. Seconds passed.
Then, she opened them slowly.
"I saw only this," she said hoarsely. "Gazes from the darkness… screams of agony… desires swelling to unbearable extremes… and… and…"
She suddenly wobbled as if dizzy—then collapsed to the ground.
"Looks like your future sucks," Veronica said, clearly enjoying herself. She still hadn't forgiven the mechanical arm joke.
"Pretty sure hers is worse," Amir said, gesturing to the unconscious witch. Was this a scam? A fainting act? Still, he couldn't just leave her there.
"You carry her. I'll go find Rango."
"Deal."
Unlike the increasingly rogue-like Veronica, Rango was a model citizen.
Amir, balancing bags of groceries, arrived at the port just as Rango and Sain were unloading two floating crates. BD-4 perched on one, issuing orders.
"All done?" Amir called.
"Finished unloading a shipment this morning. Ran into Sain by chance," Rango replied, the green-scaled reptilian flashing a smile.
Amir set his bags onto one of the crates and gave BD-4 a pat.
"Let's head back—lunch is on me."
"Nice!"
"Someone's doing well," Sain chuckled, eyeing the haul. He spotted a small burlap sack. "What's that?"
"Heh. You'll find out soon enough," Amir grinned.
Back at the Mels' workshop, they found Pierre and Veronica chatting with the now-awake witch.
She had removed her hood, revealing a youthful humanoid face, framed by golden hair and marked by green patterns on her forehead. Her emerald eyes and elfin features gave her an ethereal, forest-sprite aura.
When she saw Amir, she quickly stood.
"I'm so sorry for the trouble."
"No problem. You're awake—that's what matters. Join us for lunch?"
"I… I don't have any money," she mumbled, clutching her robe.
"No one's charging you," Amir smiled. "I'm partly to blame for what happened."
"?? Who's this?" Sain asked, entering from the back.
Veronica tugged the witch back down onto her seat.
"This is Gulgina Watkins. She's a professional witch."
"A witch? Come on, that's something out of a holo-novel," Sain said skeptically.
"She's legit. She can read destinies—and she's accurate," Veronica insisted.
"Says the one whose reading didn't even finish," Amir teased.
"Hmph!" Veronica shot him a glare.
"I'm cooking. Today's special comes with a secret spice guaranteed to blow your minds," Amir declared, holding up the sack to reveal the strange nuts inside.
"Malaka?!" the witch gasped.
"Hey! You swearing at me? Wait—you know what this is?" Amir blinked.
"Huh?" Gulgina paused, then said, "It's a fruit that grows on trees from my homeworld."
"Naboo, right? The vendor told me it came from there."
"Oh—no. I'm from Adrien, a small Outer Rim world."
"Then you know how to use these?" Amir's eyes lit up. No need for guesswork if she could guide him.
"They're medicinal, but also used in cooking. We use them all the time."
"That's perfect! Want to help me cook?"
"I'd love to," Gulgina smiled, rising quickly to follow him into the kitchen.
Inside, Gulgina carefully ground the Malaka nuts. Amir, watching her closely, glanced at the green patterns on her forehead.
"Those markings—are they like tribal totems?"
"In a way," she said. "They're a symbol of our connection to the Forest Spirit."
"The Forest Spirit… is that where your divination powers come from?"
"Yes. And… I think you might have the same ability," she added, looking up.
Her emerald eyes locked with his, filled with both warmth and an unspoken question.
.
.
.
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